Living With Cerebral Palsy

To some, disabilities can seem like a hindrance, but to Becca Whitman, her disability is a gift. Our own Taylor Crum had the privilege to talk with Becca and hear her story. Becca Whitman is just like any other student.

She goes to class, spends time with friends and enjoys extracurricular activities. From talking to Becca, you would never know she has a disability. I have cerebral palsy called spastic displasia where you just it's in your legs and your muscles are constantly tight twenty four seven Becca says her cerebral palsy makes it painful to carry out everyday activities that those of us without a disability take for granted every day, like walking from class to class on campus. When you have cerebral palsy the type that i have like your muscles are always tight what you do is clinch your fist and clinch it as hard as you can for twenty seconds and once your release you should feel your muscles are really tight that's how my legs feel all the time they're always tired they're always tight it's just exhausting sometimes walking even the smallest distances But she doesn’t let that stop her from staying active on campus. Becca enjoys attending bible studies and she’s an active member of the A O Pi sorority. A O Pi has really given me the opportunity to share the love and they have taught me a lot and even though I'm just a freshman I'm still growing with that their ritual is very it's something very special to me and I'm really glad that they all accepted me for who i am when i walked into A O Pi they didn't see my cerebral palsy at all they saw the person i am and who i was Majoring in Nonprofit Leadership with a minor in religious studies, Becca wants to help and serve others with her career.

I really want to work for hope international and be like on their ministry team I really like community service and A O Pi has helped me with that they have a lot of really great community service opportunities and i think i can really grow in that field and just really serve the Lord through that Becca’s best friend Hannah Moore says her friend’s disability affects her in a positive way. I feel like it makes her a lot better person and she's an inspiration to everyone just by the way she talks because she's so positive all the time where you would imagine somebody to be negative about it but she just embraces it and just makes it part of her A fun fact about Becca is that she LOVES Racer Basketball. She hardly ever misses a home game.

She even goes out of her way to show her appreciation to both the girl’s and boy’s team. I make them signs i always leave notes on their door like encouragement and then i'll leave them like a gatorade after the game being like good game it's just really fun to kind of interact with them Becca says she thinks her cerebral palsy is a big reason why she’s a sports fan. I wasn't able to play that many sports as a kid because i physically couldn't do it so i think living through the sports of other people it gives me encouragement As you can see, Becca doesn’t let her disability define who she is. If there's anything that i would want you all to know about people who have cerebral palsy we're just normal people like everyone else.

As a sorority sister to Becca, I’ve had the privilege to become friends with her and she’s one of the most inspirational people I’ve ever met. We could all learn a thing or two from Becca and the way she lives her daily life. For roundabout u, I’m Taylor Crum.